On
November 24
1919 labour leader RB Russell went on trial for seditious conspiracy
during the 1919 strike. Of all the participants in the strike Russell
paid a high price spending a year of his two-year sentence at Stony
Mountain.
Robert
Boyd
Russell was born in 1888 in a working class district of Glasgow
Scotland. His father was a staunch socialist and he grew up a rebel. RB
became immersed in the world of the socialism and shared his father's
concern for social problems. In 1911, seeking better fortunes, he
arrived in Winnipeg where he soon found a job as a machinist in the CPR
shops. He married his childhood sweetheart who had also emigrated along
with her brother and RB.
LABOUR
POLITICS
He
soon became
involved in the Machinists union and in the Socialist Party of Canada.
He was cautioned for his unpatriotic views during WW1 where he called
it a capitalist war. Russell was a committed Marxist who did not
believe in partial solutions offered by people like Fred Dixon, who
Russell saw as weak. Conditions and pay in Winnipeg were lagging behind
the cost of living. The cost of living had gone up 75% between 1913 and
1919. Average pay was $900 yet it was estimated that $1,500 was needed
to feed a family. Russell helped establish half day Saturday work hours
in western Canada. He believed that the working class was destined to
rule the world. He railed against the more moderate reformist Winnipeg
Labour Party. After the Russian revolution RB began to address his
colleagues "comrade." And he worked to establish the One Big Union.
RB
RUSSELL ON TRIAL
RB
became the
leader of the 1919 strike and was arrested. He went on trial on Nov 24.
The crown was unable to prove that he had tried to bring about a
Bolshevik revolution. His lawyer contended that RB had only used
colourful language and that he was being taken too seriously.
Revolution was just another word for change or for normal evolution.
Russell was found guilty and on Christmas eve 1919 RB was sentenced to
two years in prison. But first Judge Metcalfe sent RB home to celebrate
Christmas with his family. The next day the police came hand-cuffed him
and took him to Stony Mountain. He was freed a year later on Dec 11,
1920.
Russell
continued to work on the idea of the One Big Union. But it did not
materialize as workers in western Canada and later in Winnipeg failed
to support it. Russell ran for federal election under the Independent
Labour party in 1926 in St James but was soundly defeated. He then
turned his attention to organizing restaurant workers. The One Big
Union officially wound up in 1956. Russell then saw appointment to the
Manitoba Labour Relations Board, the Fair Wage Board, and served on
community groups like the Community Chest and the Cancer Research Board.
HONOURING
THE GRAND OLD MAN OF LABOUR
Russell
waited a
long time before his contributions to labour were recognized by the
entire Winnipeg society. On Labour Day 1964, RB Russell was honoured by
receiving his address of appreciation from the Manitoba Conservative
Govt. Russell sat at the front of the Labour Day Parade like he had
done many years before. He died a few weeks later on Sept 25, 1964.
On
April 4, 1967
the cornerstone was laid on RB Russell Vocational school. The school's
official opening was attended by RB's wife Margaret, daughter Margaret
and son David. The Winnipeg Labour Council also unveiled a plaque to RB
Russell recognizing his work as a labour leader and activist for
vocational education.